World Tag League
The World Tag League is a round-robin tag team tournament held by New Japan Pro Wrestling as a spin-off of the popular singles tournament, the G1 Climax. It was created in 1991 as the Super Grade Tag League, as a continuation of a regular tag team tournament held since 1980, gaining the name G1 Tag League in 1999. In 2012, New Japan's new owners, the Bushiroad company, renamed the tournament to its current form. The winners of the tournament, assuming they do not already hold the belts, obtain #1 contendership to the IWGP Tag Team Championship. The World Tag League is held under a points system, with 2 points for a win, 1 for a draw and 0 for a loss. The tournament had a format identical to that of the G1 Climax, introduced in 2006, with the top two scoring teams from two blocks of five or six advancing to the semifinals, and the winners of those matches battling in the final. The format was changed to a single block, with the top two scoring teams battling in the final. List of winners 1980 The 1980 MSG Tag League featured 9 teams in a single block, and was held from November 21 to December 10, 1980. 1981 The 1981 MSG Tag League featured 10 teams in a single block, and was held from November 19 to December 10, 1981. Due to a tie for second place, the two second-place teams faced each other in a semifinal to decide the finalists. 1982 The 1982 MSG Tag League featured 8 teams in a single block, and was held from November 19 to December 10, 1982. "Young Simpson" may be a mistranslation; no data has been found other than being tag team partner of British wrestler Wayne Bridges. 1983 The 1983 MSG Tag League featured 9 teams in a single block, and was held from November 18 to December 8, 1983. † Hansen was injured and couldn't compete in the final. 1984 The 1984 MSG Tag League featured 7 teams in a single block, and was held from November 16 to December 5, 1984. 1985 The 1985 IWGP Tag Title League featured 8 teams in a single block, and was held from November 15 to December 12, 1985. †Brody & Snuka no-showed the finals and jumped to All Japan Pro Wrestling 1986 The 1986 Japan Cup Tag League featured 8 teams in a single block, and was held from November 14, 1986 to December 11, 1986. 1987 The 1987 Japan Cup Tag League featured 8 teams in a single block, and was held from November 9, 1987 to December 7, 1987. 1991 The 1991 Super Grade Tag League featured 7 teams in a single block, and was held from October 5 to October 17. Due to a tie for second place, the two second-place teams faced each other in a semifinal to decide the finalists. 1992 The 1992 Super Grade Tag League, featuring 7 teams, was held from October 8 to October 21. 1993 The 1993 Super Grade Tag League, featuring 10 teams, was held from October 8 to November 4. 1994 The 1994 Super Grade Tag League, featuring 10 teams, was held from October 19 to October 30. 1995 The 1995 Super Grade Tag League, featuring 7 teams, was held from October 15 to October 30. Due to a tie for second place, the two second-place teams faced each other in a semifinal to decide the finalists. Masa Saito also replaced Riki Choshu in his team with Kensuke Sasaki after one match. 1996 The 1996 Super Grade Tag League, featuring 8 teams, was held from October 13 to November 1. It altered the traditional points system, rewarding just 1 point for a victory, and 0 for a draw or loss. 1997 The 1997 Super Grade Tag League, featuring 8 teams, was held from November 18 to December 8. It used the same points system as the previous year, awarding 1 point for a win and 0 for a loss or draw. Due to a tie for second place, the two second-place teams faced each other in a semifinal to decide the finalists. 1998 The 1998 Super Grade Tag League, featuring 7 teams, was held from November 16 to December 6. It returned to the traditional points system, awarding 2 points for a victory, 1 for a draw and 0 for a loss. Due to a four-way tie for first place, the four teams were paired in the semifinals, with the two winners facing off in the final. . 1999 The 1999 G1 Tag League, featuring 9 teams, was held from September 10 to September 23. 2000 The 2000 G1 Tag League, featuring 7 teams, was held from November 17 to November 30. It strayed slightly from the standard formula; as there was a four-way tie for first place, all four teams advanced to a small single elimination tournament to decide the 2000 G1 Tag champions. 2001 The 2001 G1 Tag League, featuring 8 teams, was held from November 30 to December 11. 2003 The 2003 G1 Tag League, featuring 8 teams, was held from October 15 to October 30. The match between Mike Barton and Jim Steele and Hiroshi Tanahashi and Yutaka Yoshie did not have the usual 30-minute time limit as it was also for Tanahashi and Yoshie's IWGP Tag Team Championship, giving it a 60-minute time limit. 2006 The 2006 G1 Tag League featured two blocks of five and ran from October 15 to November 6. 2007 The 2007 G1 Tag League was held from October 18, 2007 to November 2, 2007 over ten shows, featuring eight teams in one block. Due to a four-way tie for first place, a four-team semifinal was set up, with the matchups being randomly drawn. 1This was a handicap match, not involving Tomko due to scheduling conflicts. 2008 The 2008 G1 Tag League, featuring 12 teams in two blocks, will be held from October 18 to November 5. 2009 The 2009 G1 Tag League featured two blocks of five and ran from October 17 through November 1. 2010 The 2010 G1 Tag League featured two blocks of six and ran from October 22 through November 7. | RD2-seed1=A1 | RD2-team1='Nagata and Inoue' | RD2-score1=Pin | RD2-seed2=B1 | RD2-team2=Naito and Takahashi | RD2-score2=17:49 |2 = Nagata and Inoue|3 = Pin|4 = Bernard and Anderson|5 = 9:54|7 = Naito and Takahashi|8 = Pin|9 = Nakanishi and Strong Man|10 = 11:54 |12 = Nagata and Inoue|13 = +Pin|14 = Naito and Takahashi|15 = 17:49}} 2011 The 2011 G1 Tag League featured two blocks of six and ran from October 22 through November 6. | RD1-seed3=B1 | RD1-team3=Nakamura and Yano | RD1-score3=Pin | RD1-seed4=A2 | RD1-team4='Archer and Suzuki' | RD1-score4=12:08 | RD2-seed1=A1 | RD2-team1=Bernard and Anderson | RD2-score1=Pin | RD2-seed2=A2 | RD2-team2='Archer and Suzuki' | RD2-score2=17:42 |2 = Bernard and Anderson|3 = Pin|4 = Goto and Tanahashi|5 = 12:10 |7 = Nakamura and Yano|8 = Pin|9 = Archer and Suzuki|10 = 12:08|12 = Bernard and Anderson|13 = Pin|14 = Archer and Suzuki|15 = 17:42}} 2012 The 2012 edition of the newly rebranded World Tag League took place from November 20 through December 2. | RD1-seed3=B1 | RD1-team3=Tenzan and Kojima | RD1-score3=Pin | RD1-seed4=A2 | RD1-team4='Goto and Anderson' | RD1-score4=14:41 | RD2-seed1=B2 | RD2-team1=Smith and Archer | RD2-score1=Pin | RD2-seed2=A2 | RD2-team2='Goto and Anderson' | RD2-score2=15:36 |2 = Makabe and Inoue|3 = Pin|4 = Smith and Archer|5 = 12:10 |7 = Tenzan and Kojima|8 = Pin|9 = Goto and Anderson|10 = 14:41|12 = Smith and Archer|13 = Pin|14 = Goto and Anderson|15 = 15:36}} 2013 The 2013 edition of the World Tag League took place from November 23 through December 8. | RD1-seed3=B1 | RD1-team3='Gallows and Anderson' | RD1-score3=Pin | RD1-seed4=A2 | RD1-team4=Makabe and Honma | RD1-score4=8:38 | RD2-seed1=B2 | RD2-team1=Tenzan and Kojima | RD2-score1=Pin | RD2-seed2=B1 | RD2-team2='Gallows and Anderson' | RD2-score2=18:57 |2 = Smith and Archer|3 = Pin|4 = Tenzan and Kojima|5 = 12:54|7 = Gallows and Anderson|8 = Pin|9 = Makabe and Honma|10 = 8:38|12 = Tenzan and Kojima|13 = Pin|14 = Gallows and Anderson|15 = 18:57}} 2014 The 2014 edition of the World Tag League took place from November 22 through December 7. Following his team's opening match in the tournament, Yoshitatsu was forced to pull out of the tournament with a neck injury, leading to him and Hiroshi Tanahashi forfeiting the rest of their matches. |2 = Gallows and Anderson|3 = Pin|4 = Goto and Shibata|5 = 20:58 }} 2015 The 2015 edition of the World Tag League took place from November 21 through December 9. A.J. Styles was sidelined with a back injury following November 24, forcing him and Yujiro Takahashi to forfeit the rest of their matches. |2 = Makabe and Honma|3 = Pin|4 = EVIL and Naito|5 = 21:36 }} 2016 The 2016 edition of the World Tag League is scheduled to take place from November 18 through December 10. }} 2017 The 2017 edition of the World Tag League took place from November 18 through December 11. The tournament featured the NJPW debuts of Chuckie T., Jeff Cobb and Sami Callihan. The tournament featured a format change, where several top wrestlers, including Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada, Kenny Omega and Tetsuya Naito, who already had matches booked for Wrestle Kingdom 12, were left out of the tournament. 2018 The 2018 edition of the World Tag League took place from November 17 through December 9. The tournament featured a format change, where several top wrestlers, including Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada, Kenny Omega, Jay White and Tetsuya Naito, who already had matches booked for Wrestle Kingdom 13, were left out of the tournament. 2019 The 2019 edition of the World Tag League took place from November 16 through December 8. The tournament featured a format change, where several top wrestlers, including Kazuchika Okada, Kota Ibushi, Jay White and Tetsuya Naito, who already have matches booked for Wrestle Kingdom 14, were left out of the tournament. Gallery |-| Gallery= MSGJCTLtrophy.jpg|MSG/Japan Cup Tag League trophy SuGTLtrophy.jpg|Super Grade Tag League trophy G1tagtrophy.jpg|G1 League first trophy G1WToldtrophy.jpg|G1 second/first World Tag League old trophy WTCtrophy.jpg|World Tag League current trophy |-| Winners= IBBWT.jpg|Antonio Inoki and Bob Backlund GGWT.jpg|André the Giant and René Goulet IHWT.jpg|Antonio Inoki and Hulk Hogan Kimurafujinami.jpg|Tatsumi Fujinami and Kengo Kimura FBVV.jpg|Tatsumi Fujinami and Big Van Vader CHWT.jpg|Riki Choshu and Shinya Hashimoto HMWT.jpg|Hiroshi Hase and Keiji Mutoh Cho-Ten.jpg|Masahiro Chono and Hiroyoshi Tenzan HNWT.jpg|Shinya Hashimoto and Scott Norton ChonoMutohWT.jpg|Masahiro Chono and Keiji Mutoh KKMWTG.jpg|Satoshi Kojima and Keiji Mutoh MNWT.jpg|Keiji Mutoh and Scott Norton INWT.jpg|Takashi Iizuka and Yuji Nagata TenCozyWT.jpg|Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan Nishimuratenzan.jpg|Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Osamu Nishimura RISEWT1.jpg|Masahiro Chono and Shinsuke Nakamura RISEWT2.jpg|Giant Bernard and Travis Tomko BIWT.jpg|Karl Anderson and Giant Bernard NIWT.jpg|Yuji Nagata and Wataru Inoue SZGWT.jpg|Lance Archer and Minoru Suzuki SwordsandGunsWT.jpg|Hirooki Goto and Karl Anderson GallowsAndersonwtl.jpg|Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows MeiyuTagWT.jpg|Hirooki Goto and Katsuyori Shibata GBHWT.jpg|Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma LIJWT.jpg|EVIL and SANADA FinJuiceWTL.jpg|Juice Robinson and David Finlay References Category:Events Category:Tournaments Category:NJPW Events Category:NJPW Tournaments